Meet the Family
by Deadly Poppy
Summary: Much to Oliver's distress, it's time for him to meet Katie's family, and, even worse, for her to meet his. Three-shot.
1. Chapter 1

Katie Bell could feel Oliver fidgeting beside her.

"Will you cut it out?" she hissed at him, not turning her head or dropping her fake smile. She did not want the first thing her mother saw when they went inside to be her yelling at him. Aunt Loretta would have a field day with that one. Katie could just hear her now, "Oh, poor Katherine. Oh well, darling, you'll find someone else. Maybe…"

"I'm nervous," Oliver whined softly, also maintaining an air of contentedness, albeit somewhat anxiously so.

"I know you are," Katie replied gently, giving his hand a squeeze. "That's why I love you."

"Because I sweat like a pig when I'm scared?" Oliver asked, confused.

Katie laughed. "No you idiot," she giggled. "Because you're sweet, and you care what my family thinks of you even though it makes no difference to me."

Oliver shrugged. "It would make a difference," he told her. "You would be upset if they didn't like me."

"Oh Oliver!" Katie gushed, kissing him quickly. Taking a deep breath, she adjusted her sweater, smoother her already wrinkle-free jeans, and opened the door.

Oliver's eyes widened at the sight that stood before them.

There were several kids running about with underwear on their heads, and an older looking woman with a wooden spoon yelling threats at them. By their lack of response, however, Oliver assumed that they'd heard it all before and knew that she had no intention of smacking them with said spoon. There were adults around, maybe fifteen or twenty of them, but they seemed to be taking no notice of the children, and instead were all engaged in a heated game of Trivial Pursuits.

Oliver had never seen anything like it. His family reunions were always very small, as he had a very small family, and someone always seemed to be avoiding someone else. His grandmother's house had white carpets; you didn't run around, and you never, ever yelled.

"What sense is most closely linked to the memory!?" a twenty-something woman with dark hair practically screamed at a man sitting across from her.

"Sight!" the man yelled triumphantly, but the woman shook her head sadly.

"It's hearing dumbass!" called another man off to the side, but the woman shook her head again.

"Well what is it then!?" an older man asked. "Come on, there's only five senses!"

"What do you think it is Kat?" a man asked quietly, turning to Katie. Somehow his soft tone seemed to have a bigger effect on the group than the yelling, because at that moment, the room went silent, and all eyes turned to the doorway.

"I am really sorry about this," Katie whispered simply. Before Oliver could question her, however, she had grabbed his hand again and pulled him across the threshold.

"Katie-Kat!" a deep voice bellowed, and Oliver turned to see a tall, muscular man with brown hair but the same green eyes as Katie's coming towards them from the Trivial Pursuits table. "Come give your favorite brother a hug!"

"Oomph!" was all Katie managed to say while stuck inside the man's embrace.

"And who is this?" he asked, his attention shifted easily from Katie to Oliver, his eyes pausing for a second to examine their clasped hands.

"Brendan," Katie said slowly. "This is Oliver. We're going out."

Oliver raised an eyebrow at the fact that she had said "going out" and not "living together". He then wondered if her family knew that the "roommate" she lived in the city with was not of the female/friend variety.

"Well," was all Brendan said, taking firm hold of Oliver's other hand and shaking it.

"Oliver, this is my oldest brother, Brendan," Katie said proudly, giving his hand another squeeze, trying to convey to him that Brendan Bell was not as scary as he looked.

"Nice to meet you," Oliver said, and Katie was surprised at how un-nervous he managed to sound, even though she could see that he was still sweating.

"Well, don't let me hog you, dear sweet sister," Brendan joked, strategically pulling Katie aside and leading her to the table where the game was going on. "You women keep playing, and let us guys have a talk with Oliver here."

Oliver's eyes widened with fear, but Katie maneuvered herself back to his side.

"Nice try," she laughed. "But I am not leaving you guys alone with my boyfriend. There'll be nothing left of him!" Oliver nearly sighed with relief, but then he heard the rest of Katie's statement: "There will be time for that later."

"Well come on, introduce us all!" the middle-aged with the wooden spoon urged, walking over. She then ignored her own order, and introduced herself. "I'm Elizabeth Bell," she said, giving Oliver a one-armed hug. "And over there-" she pointed to a middle-aged man at the game table "-is my husband, Richard."

"Nice to meet you both," Oliver replied, and he seemed to mean it. Katie had another sudden burst of affection for him.

Katie then set about introducing Oliver to everyone, hurrying as if she knew that at any moment she could be interrupted. And she was, frequently in fact, by random input from her family. But finally, Oliver could safely say he knew everyone there: Her parents, Elizabeth and Richard; her brothers, Brendan, Jenson, Tristan, and Harvey; their wives, Eliza, Martha, and Isabel (Harvey wasn't married); their children: Madison, Emma, Jacob, Missy, Allyson, Jane, and Alvin; Katie's grandparents, Susanne and Richard Sr.; and Katie's aunts and uncles, Luis and Rhaietta, Miranda and James, and Loretta and Gabe.

All of Katie's brothers had her light green eyes, as did her mother, but only Tristan, the quiet one, shared her blonde hair.

"Well, it's so nice to welcome you to the family," Katie's Aunt Miranda said sweetly as she shook his hand, firmly ignoring Loretta's eagle-eye keeping a careful watch on him. She leaned in to whisper to him, "Ignore her, she likes to criticize."

Oliver was touched. His whole family was like Aunt Loretta, criticizing and watching. No one was simply "welcomed to the family" at first sight, with nothing but a handshake and an introduction. This was an entirely new development.

But, as Oliver was already learning was common in the Bell household, they were suddenly interrupted.

The front door swung open, and inside walked a blonde girl who could have been Katie's twin, were she not several years older and carrying a baby.

The room went quite for a small--but noticeable--moment, before the awkward greetings began.

Katie, however, seemed unfazed by everyone else's reaction, and greeted the girl, presumably her sister, with as much--more, actually--gusto as she had everyone else.

"Elinor!" she cried happily, throwing her arms around the girl and the baby. "And little Violet! Oh, she's getting so big! Oliver, this is my sister Elinor! Ellie, this is Oliver, my boyfriend."

"Oliver!" Elinor exclaimed, grinning and hugging him as if they were old friends. "Oh, I've heard so much about you from Katie! And of course, the Prophet, you being a famous Quidditch player and all, but you never can trust that paper." Oliver could already tell he was going to like this girl.

Obviously all too aware of the awkwardness that had centered around her arrival, Elinor turned to her family and grinned. "Are we playing Trivial Pursuits or what?"

And that was it. There was little more anxious greeting, because apparently in the Bell household there are two rules: one, no fighting while playing Trivial Pursuits; and two, the actual rules of Trivial Pursuits are merely suggestions.

"What three European countries start with the letter A?" Elinor shouted to Brendan, who looked confused.

"Albania!" Katie hissed at him.

"Albania!" Brendan repeated. "Ooh, and Austria!"

"You're running out of time!" Richard yelled at his son. "What's the third one?"

Searching the group, Brendan bit his lip in concentration, but no one seemed to know the answer.

Suddenly rule number two of the house was clear to Oliver. "Andorra!" he told Brendan, not too loudly, but he got his point across.

"Yes!" Brendan cried triumphantly, High-fiving Oliver without warning. "Way to go!"

Katie grinned at him, and Oliver felt a flush of relief. He was doing alright.

For now.

*********

"Dinner is served!" Elizabeth called, ringing a large cowbell. Oliver laughed out loud for the first time that night as he watched everyone crowd around to receive a helping of mashed potatoes, green beans, and chicken.

"They like you," Katie sighed, satisfied, as she and Oliver sat off to the side of the porch to eat their dinner. Everyone had decided that on such a beautiful, starry night, why eat inside? "I had rather hoped they would."

"Well, what's not to like about me?" Oliver teased, and Katie flung a green bean at him, causing him to laugh so hard he nearly chocked on his chicken. Sitting up, Oliver took on a serious tone-of-voice. "Can I ask you something, though?"

"Anything."

"Why was everyone weird around Elinor when she first got here?"

Katie bit her lip. "Oh," she said. "That." Then she sighed. "You know how I haven't told my family that we're living together?" Oliver didn't actually know this, but he'd had a hunch, so he nodded anyway. "Well, two years ago Elinor moved in with her boyfriend. No one thought it was a good idea, but she insisted that they were planning on getting married and that this was what they wanted."

Katie closed her eyes, leaning back into her chair and Oliver nodded, waiting for her to continue.

"Then Elinor got pregnant. She told me first, because it was really unexpected. But we thought her boyfriend would at least be alright with it, if not happy about it. He said he was, but he left in the middle of the night two weeks later. We haven't heard from the jerk since. And that's why I can't tell my parents we're living together."

Oliver put his hand on Katie's, his fingers finding the spaces between her own. "I would never do that to you," he whispered.

"I know," Katie breathed, smiling. Then she opened her eyes so suddenly that the green almost startled Oliver.

"But Oliver, I have to warn you about something," Katie said quietly, suddenly sounding nervous. But whatever it was Katie needed to warn him about Oliver never heard, because at that moment, Brendan, Jenson, Tristan, and Harvey grabbed Oliver by the arms and dragged him off. Not that anyone else noticed anything out of the ordinary.

"Be careful!" Katie called to the retreating group, although she knew it was to no avail.

*********

Oliver had no idea where he was. It was dark, and all he could see around him were trees and part of what appeared to be a river.

"Kat is our baby sister," Brendan told him solemnly. "She's the youngest in our family. She's not even twenty yet. We're _very_ protective of her."

Oliver didn't say anything. He wasn't sure he was supposed to. It turned out to be for the better anyway, because Harvey began where his brother had left off.

"The last person we had this talk with didn't follow through."

"Kat may have told you that he hasn't been seen since?" Jenson asked him. Oliver nodded. "Well, that isn't exactly true. All I'll say is that I can assure you he couldn't see straight for at least a week or two after we found him."

Oliver gulped. "I would never-"

"You say that," Tristan interrupted, shaking his head. "But we can't be sure you mean it. Then again, we can't be sure you don't mean it either. So you're going to prove it to us."

Oliver gulped. "I would do anything for Katie."

"Good," Brendan said, and the next thing Oliver knew, he was being lifted into the air, and then he was aware of nothing but a loud splash and water all around him.

*********

"Kat, stop worrying!" Elinor chided her sister a half hour later. All four brothers were now seated in the living room, laughing and joking as if nothing had happened, while Katie sat there on the front porch, scared out of her mind.

"How could they do this?" Katie cried, ignoring her sister's admonishment. "They didn't do this to…well, you know."

"No, they didn't," Elinor agreed. "But they're doing it because of him. They want to protect you."

Katie sighed. "You're right."

And for the next twenty minutes, she sat on the front porch, telling herself that Elinor was right, that everything would work out for the better.

"He's taking his sweet time getting back," Brendan grumbled.

"You left him in the woods!" Katie screamed at her brother. She slipped off her shoes, fully ready to beat him with her high heel, when she saw a figure walking toward them.

"Oliver!" she cried happily, running to him without bothering to slip her shoes back on. The grass felt good against her feet anyway. She threw her arms around Oliver and kissed him, and he was happy for all of three seconds before…

"YOU'RE SOPPING WET!" she screamed, pulling back as she realized the front of her shirt was now drenched. She looked confused and a little disgusted before putting two and two together. Fire blazed in her eyes as she turned to her brothers.

"You threw him…in the river?" she said, and it came out as a question. "_You_ _threw him in the river!?_" she repeated, shrieking.

Elinor hid a laugh as Elizabeth looked slightly disappointed in her boys, but proud at the same time. Katie grabbed the shoe she had left on the porch and began to hit whichever brother was within smacking distance.

"Ow, Kat!" Harvey cried indignantly. "We did it for you."

She stopped, then grinned. "I know!" she laughed, throwing her arms around them.

Richard Bell laughed, slapping Oliver on the back in a friendly, family type way. "Good luck with that one," was all he said.

*********

Later, after drinks had been drunk, small children had fallen asleep, and everything edible had been discovered and consumed, it was decided that it was time for bed.

"I'll show you to your room Oliver," Elizabeth told him, taking him by the arm and leading him up a staircase. She had a secretive smile on her face, as if she knew something he didn't, and she wasn't entirely sure whether she found it amusing or disappointing.

"You're in here," she said finally, depositing him in what appeared to be a guest room and leaving without another word.

A little confused, Oliver set about pulling his pajamas out of his suitcase. Albeit a little disheartening, it was strangely comforting that him and Katie would be in separate rooms, if only because that is exactly how it would be at his house. This was, in fact, so unsurprising that poor Oliver nearly jumped out of his socks when there was a knock on the door, and who should walk in but Brendan Bell, followed closely by his wife.

Brendan, however, didn't seem to find it at all strange, and flopped right down onto Oliver's bed.

"Don't unpack!" he admonished Oliver. Then he sighed, understanding. "Katie didn't tell you, did she?"

Oliver wasn't sure what Katie told him, but he had a feeling if she had, he would no. So he just shook his head, causing Brendan to sigh again.

"That girl," he laughed. "Well, whenever one of us brings someone to a family get-together, after Mum and Dad put us in separate rooms, everyone switches round. So now you're in with Katie."

Confused, all Oliver could think to say was, "But what if your parents found out?"

Brendan scoffed. "Come on," he said. "Give them some credit. They know and turn a blind eye to a lot more than you would imagine. In fact," he added with a sly grin, "I'll bet they've already figured out, just like everyone else, that you and my dear little sister are living together."

Eyes wide, Oliver couldn't respond, but Brendan didn't give him a chance to anyway. He just laughed, pointed down the hallways, and said, "Katie's room is the first one on the left hand side."

Oliver grabbed his bag and headed out the door. Even without directions, Katie's childhood bedroom wouldn't have been hard to miss. It was the only one with an enchanted poster on it that read: KEEP OUT, and depicted a Quidditch player being knocked off their broom by a bludger over and over and over again.

Upon opening the door, Oliver was struck speechless. Whatever he had expected her room to look like, this surely wasn't it.

Photographs. Everywhere. They covered each wall, frame to frame, and were propped up on each bedside table, desk, dresser, and were even tacked, overlapping, on an overloaded corkboard above her bed.

The first photo to catch Oliver's eye was the one taken directly after Katie's first Quidditch game at Hogwarts. Fred and George had propped her up onto their shoulders and proceeded to carry her across the field. She looked so happy, so full of life Oliver had a sudden urge to snatch the frame of the wall, hide the picture in his jacket, and take it home. Resisting, he moved on to a different one.

The second picture he saw was much sadder. It was Fred's funeral, and Katie had buried her head into Oliver's sweater, so that all that was visible of her was a mess of frizzy blonde hair. Oliver looked lost as to what to do, and George was there to, stroking Katie's hair. Amazingly, George had been the most unfazed mourner of all. It made sense, Oliver supposed. He didn't have to miss Fred, because he was Fred. He lived for the both of them. Oliver forced himself to look away from that picture.

Oliver nearly fell over when his eyes drifted to the picture closest to her bed. It was a close-up of someone. Somehow Oliver knew this was one picture Katie had taken herself. The light touched the person's features with perfection. His eyes lit up, his hair fell just perfectly, and he was laughing, easily and carefree. Even his nose, something that is rarely attractive on a human, seemed perfect. It took several moments before Oliver could realize he was looking at a photograph of himself.

"I don't think I'm allowed to have boys in my room," a voice said from Katie's bed. Oliver turned quickly to see the love of his life laying across a purple bedspread, looking like she just stepped out of a film about Greek Goddesses. Oliver swallowed, walking slowly toward her.

"I suppose I'll have to leave through the window then," he replied, smirking. Katie laughed.

"No," she replied. "I suppose you can stay."

"Why thank you, Your Majesty," Oliver said with a mock bow, before climbing onto the bed next to her.

"I'm glad you met my family," Katie said thoughtfully, not looking at Oliver. "I think they like you."

"I knew it would be important to you," Oliver said seriously. "You love them."

"But I love you, too," she said. "And I still would even if they hated you."

"I love you too," Oliver replied sincerely.

"Oliver?" Katie asked after a short comfortable silence.

"Yes?"

"Do you want children?"

Oliver fell out of bed so suddenly that Katie screamed out of surprise and Oliver banged his head on the bedside table. There was silence for a moment and then…

"Hey, keep it down you guys, some of us are _sleeping_!"

Mortified, Oliver got back into bed to find Katie's eyes tearing up.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I shouldn't have…I'm sorry!"

"No, no, no!" Oliver cried quickly, silently cursing himself. "No! This is important! We should talk about it! I was just surprised, that's all! Of course I want to have children!"

"You do?" Katie sniffled.

"Yes," Oliver said sincerely. "I do. I mean, I'm sure it'll be a few years, but…" he trailed off, his eyes widening. "You're not…"

"No!" Katie assured him. "No, I was just asking. Because, I mean, we've talked about getting married before, but I didn't know if you wanted kids, and I needed to make sure, and-"

Oliver cut her off. "I love you, Katie Bell," he said. "And I will love our kids because they will be the best of both of us. But, if at all possible, it would be best if they didn't come until after we get married."

Katie smiled, and there was a long, easy silence, during which time both Oliver and Katie fantasized about the various aspects of their future together.

"Incidentally," Oliver said after a long while, "will you marry me?"

It was Katie's turn to fall out of bed.

"Come _on _y u guys!" Elinor called again. "I'm trying really hard to keep gross mental pictures out of my head, and it would be a lot easier if we didn't have to hear it!"

Katie bit her lip. "W-what?" she asked shakily. "What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said," Oliver told her calmly, pulling a small box out of his pocket and popping it open. A petite diamond glistened for Katie to see.

"I…Oliver, I…don't know what to…"

"Say yes," Oliver suggested hopefully.

"Okay…yes."

Suddenly overcome with emotion, Oliver kissed Katie. But, just as quickly as it had come, the excitement died down, giving way to a momentary feeling of sheer terror.

"No you have to meet my family," he said miserably.

*********

**AN: Yay, they're getting married! I love weddings. But first *cackles evilly* Katie has to meet her future in-laws! Let's just say they won't be like the Bells…**

**LOL, please review, it makes me update faster! This is going to be a three-shot, just so you know, unless I decide to make a sequel.**

**REVIEW!**

**Oh, and read My Star Chaser. It's another of my Katie/Oliver stories. Have fun!**


	2. Message To My Readers

**A MESSAGE TO MY READERS**

VERY IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ

Honey, I'm home! Yes, I'm at it again. For a while I had decided that I was going to focus on more productive writing, but you know what? Fanfiction is fun, and I miss it! So here I am, writing again.

I am, however, writing under a new pen name. My new account is Princess Corkey, and below you will find a list of stories that will be on that as well as a link.

* * *

New Profile: .net/u/3790840/Princess_Corkey

**Lost In Another Time**: This story was so much fun to write, and I reread it often for inspiration, but I recently realized how much I've grown as a writer since then, and it makes me wish I could rewrite it, and I realized, why don't I? So here it is, the remastering of Lost, now called **Her Name Was Alexandra**. Three chapters are already up. Not much different yet, but I am hoping to add to it. I want to explore the Lily/James relationship in it a little further, as well as add a few more supporting characters and straighten out the timeline. Suggestions? Love 'em! Link: .net/s/8151596/1/Her_Name_Was_Alexandra

**My Other Half: **MOH will be remastered much the same as Lost, under the name **The Other Half**. I would like Allyson to have a few personality changes, making her less unpredictable so to convey that she is more vulnerably than I initially showed. Also, I would like this story to be a little longer and completely change the last chapter for I look back and feel it is a terrible ending.

**Kiss Me In The Rain, Fallen Angel, Look Into The Future, Delusions of Grandeur, **: Existing chapters will remain mostly the same, possible minor tweaking, but the story will be reposted and continued on the new account.

**Tension, Uncomfortable, A Forgotten Story**: Will be tweaked slightly for typos, but otherwise will remain the same and simply reposted on the new account.

**Never Alone, Meet The Family, All's Fair in Love and Friendship, Katie Bell: Socially Inept: **Existing chapters will be rewritten and then story will be continued on the new account. **(All's fair will be shortened to simply that. I don't like longer titles for most stories.)**

**My Star Chaser (To become simply Star Chaser), Not My Night, and Cinderella Masquerade, Lily Potter: Daughter, Sister, and Disappointment (To become Lily Potter: Disappointment)**: Possibly rewritten, but lower on the priority list. Saving for a rainy day or once all above projects are completed.


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